Father of the Nation is a term used by many countries to describe a political or symbolic leader who was one of the most influential founding fathers of the nation. He may also be a key figure from the nation's history whose perceived heroism and moral authority made him in the public's eyes worthy of respect, indeed often veneration. The Father of the Nation is almost always a highly respected national figure and a source of patriotic inspiration. His image is often elevated to that of a national symbol is commonly featured on banknotes, stamps, and other national memorabilia. Compare the Roman honorific pater patriae. In some countries, a cult of personality may be associated with the Father of the Nation.

Perhaps the most famous "Father of the Nation" is the American revolutionary general and first president of the United States, George Washington. Washington's image as a national icon of pride and leadership has become almost a cliché to the point where other countries even sometimes refer to their own independence leaders as "our George Washington."

While many states have held a 'father of the nation' in continuing highering respect since their founding, others have adopted and then abandoned some numerous figures throughout their history. Joseph Stalin was seen by millions during his period of control in the Soviet Union as the national father-figure, an image augmented deliberately by images released of him in the pose of a father or grandfather patting children on their head. Such was his esteem that a wave of suicides was recorded when his death was announced, with people suggesting that life without Stalin to guide them was unthinkable. Within a few years however, when his successors revealed the truth about Stalin's reign of terror, his popularity plummeted and his body was removed from the mausoleum where it had been laid alongside Lenin.

In Ireland, though he remained a controversial figure, to the majority of the electorate and the supporters of the state's biggest political party (which he founded and led for 33 years) Eamon de Valera was seen as the father of the nation up to his death in 1975. However in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s his reputation too underwent a re-evaluation, with the public moving away from their unfettered enthusiasm for 'deV' and his achievements and instead focusing interest on leaders like Michael Collins whom de Valera in his lifetime had tried to sideline.

Sun Yat-sen is officially the Guófù (國父, Father of the Nation) in the Republic of China (now on Taiwan). The term is not used for Mao Zedong in the People's Republic of China; when it is used in mainland China it (unofficially) refers to Sun instead.

The deposed King of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir Shah has been called "Father of the Nation" by current President Hamid Karzai, in some sense a compromise with those wishing to restore the monarchy; and a 2003 draft constitution in fact explicitly awarded this title to Zahir Shah.

Some of these "paternities," are matters of political contention in their respective countries, though most others are widely accepted on a non-partisan basis. Those listed here have been out of office for enough time to allow historians to evaluate their contributions.

Countries and their national "fathers"

Country	National father(s)
Albania	Skenderbeg (1405-1468)
Argentina	José de San Martín (1778-1850), Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820)
Australia	Arthur Phillip (1738-1814), Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824), Sir Henry Parkes (1815-1896) "Father of Federation"
Bhutan	Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal
Bolivia	Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)
Brazil	Tiradentes (1746-1792)
Burma	U Aung San (1915-1947)
Canada	Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891); Fathers of Confederation
Chile	Bernardo O'Higgins (1778-1842), José Miguel Carrera (1785-1821)
Republic of China	Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925)
Colombia	Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)
Costa Rica	José María Castro Madriz (1818-1892)
Croatia	Ante Starčević (1823-1896)
Cuba	José Martí (1853-1895)
Czech Republic	František Palacký (1798-1876)
Dominican Republic	Juan Pablo Duarte (1813-1876), Francisco del Rosario Sánchez (1817-1861), Ramón Matías Mella (1817-1864)
Ecuador	Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)
England	Alfred the Great (847?-899)
Finland	Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951)
Genoa	Andrea Doria (1466-1560)
Germany	Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)
Greece	Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831)
Haiti	Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758-1806)
Hungary	Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894)
India	Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Italy	Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy (1820-1878), Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), Count Camillo Benso di Cavour (1810-1861)
Mexico	Miguel Hidalgo (1753-1811)
Mongolia	Genghis Khan (1162?-1227)
Netherlands	Willem I of Orange (1533-1584)
Northern Ireland	Sir Edward Carson (1854-1935)
Pakistan	Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)
Paraguay	José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1766-1840)
Peru	José de San Martín (1778-1850), Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)
Philippines	José Rizal (1861-1896)
Pitcairn Islands	Fletcher Christian (1764-1793)
San Marino	Marinus (lived around 300)
Slovakia	Ľudovít Štúr (1815-1856)
Sweden	Gustav I Vasa (1496-1560)
Turkey	Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938)
United States	George Washington (1732-1799) the "Father of His Country", Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) the "Father of Independence"
Uruguay	José Gervasio Artigas (1764-1850)
Venezuela	Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)

See also: Pater Patriae